


candles are how we keep fires as pets

by natigail



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Based on a Tumblr Post, Established Relationship, Familiars, Families of Choice, Fire, Gen, Human Phil Lester, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Norman is Dan's familiar, Witch Dan Howell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:13:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26012440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natigail/pseuds/natigail
Summary: Dan tries to convince Phil that no, they absolutely cannot adopt the fire sprite that comes to visit their flat every day. Spoiler: He fails spectacularly.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 20
Kudos: 54





	candles are how we keep fires as pets

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little cute thing that popped into my head. Lowkey inspired by Phil's rescuing a pigeon video and a cute tumblr post. Magic is known in this alternative universe but most people are still regular humans.

“There it is again!” Phil said, waving his arms to try to get Dan’s attention. It was difficult when he was so immersed in his laptop.

“What is, Phil?” Dan said, without taking his eyes off the screen.

“The thing. The fire!”

This finally got Dan to look up. He even started to put his laptop away.

“There’s fire!? Phil! Where?” Dan asked, jumping up from his sofa crease much faster than he had ever gotten up.

Phil filed away that for future reference, a Dan who thoughts things were on fire moved fast. Good to know. It was probably a good thing.

“Out there!” Phil said, pointing through the glass door leading out to their balcony.

Dan visibly relaxed, even if he put a hand on his chest and gave Phil a chastising look.

“I thought something was on fire in here, dork.”

“If it was, would I really be standing at the window and looking out? Which you’d have known I was if you had looked up when I first asked you to,” Phil said. “Now come take a look.”

Dan let out a fond huff of air before he walked over to the window. He had been known to indulge Phil’s whims and it seemed this wasn’t an exception.

“What am I looking for?” Dan asked. “I don’t see any fire.”

“Just wait,” Phil said, locking his hands around Dan’s arm so he didn’t dare move. Phil was almost squishing his face up against the glass.

They probably waited for a full minute until they saw it again.

“There!”

“Oh, that’s not fire,” Dan said. “That’s a fire sprite. Not actual fire, dummy.”

“Hey, don’t be mean to me just ‘cause I don’t know. You’re the witch, not me. I don't know all your magical stuff.”

Dan chuckled at that. “I know, Phil,” he said and moved to hug Phil from behind. He pulled Phil close to his chest and moved his head to rest on Phil’s shoulder as they both watched outside.

The lump of fire danced through the air, almost twisting and turning. It couldn’t be bigger than a fist but it glowed so brightly and its red hued flames lit up their little dark balcony.

“What is a fire sprite?” Phil asked.

“I don’t know much about them. They just sort of appear from big fires, I think. You know how you’d see flickers of ember sometimes float off from a really big bonfire? It’s kind of like that except magic.”

“Cool,” Phil said, moving to put his hands against the glass and pulling Dan forward with him too. Normally, Dan would act annoyed that Phil touched and smudged the glass but right now he didn’t mention it.

“They’re just like flicker of energies.”

“He’s cute,” Phil said.

“It’s not a he. They don’t have a gender. I don’t even think they have a consciousness. They’re just lost magic.”

“How do you know?” Phil countered. “You’re specialising in spells, not magical creatures.”

“You’ve got me there,” Dan said and squeezed closer around Phil.

“I’m going to name him Steve,” Phil said, eyes still watching the fire sprite dance and twist through the air.

Phil could almost feel Dan roll his eyes, even if he couldn’t see him. Even so Dan didn’t say anything in protest.

Steve kept coming back. Every nightfall they would suddenly have a light flicker by their balcony and Phil would run up to the door. He had wanted to leave it open but Dan had told him that it was too risky. Fire sprites might be magical fire but he was sure that they could still make things catch on fire and he didn’t want their home to go up in flames.

Phil had pouted in protest but he had eventually relented. He loved their home a little too much to see it lost. It wasn’t their first home together, and probably not their last either but every home that they shared was special because of the memories they created there.

This home was also special because it was the home where Dan had finally found his familiar. Not all witches got one, or rather found one, but one day Norman had just showed up on their doorstep, meowing loudly.

Phil had been home alone and instantly taken him in but it wasn’t until Dan got home that they realised just how special Norman was. A creature of magic, meant to help and guide their witch. That had been the first surprise.

The second surprise was when Norman had suddenly transformed into a fish and joined Dan for a bath. Dan had almost cracked his head open trying to flee from the bath. Turned out that Norman was a hybrid creature, which wasn’t entirely uncommon for familiars. He was a catfish and he had looked way too satisfied with scaring his witch within one inch of his life.

Norman often joined Phil as he watched Steve in the evening. He was sure that Dan was wrong in his assessment of Steve’s consciousness. He seemed to be putting on a show for Phil every night, purposely staying within sight of the balcony. It was quite endearing. Phil took to sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the glass and just watching for about an hour every night.

It wasn’t exactly entertaining but there was something very calming about it. Norman would normally curl up in Phil’s lap and contentedly purr. Norman adored Phil, potentially even more than the familiar adored Dan, which was an endless source of amusement to Phil.

Dan had argued it must be because Norman and his soul were kin and they both loved Phil more than anything. Phil might have kissed Dan senseless for that soppy reply.

It was fun for a week, even if Dan teased him about his fire sprite watching. But then something changed.

“I think there’s something wrong with Steve,” Phil said to Dan after having watched the fire sprite twist around outside the window like he always did.

The flames on Steve looked dimmer than before and it was growing smaller too. Phil was worried.

“What do you mean?” Dan asked, instantly walking over to where Phil and Norman were sitting on the floor.

As much as he made fun of Phil for getting an attachment to a fire sprite, he must have heard the genuine tone of distress in his voice.

“Look, he’s smaller. Not as bright and not as fast either. Something is wrong,” Phil said, pointing through the glass.

Dan looked for a full minute, deep in concentration, before he hummed.

“It does look different,” he said.

“Steve,” Phil corrected.

“Fine, Steve does look different, but I don’t know that there’s much we can do to change it.”

“I’m going to try to speak to Steve,” Phil said.

“I don’t know that that’s a good idea,” Dan said but Phil had already gotten off the floor and he was pulling open the balcony door. As soon as it opened, the fire sprite flickered away.

Phil was gutted and Steve didn’t come back any more that night.

He did come back the following night, much to Phil’s relief but he looked even worse.

Phil decided to call the Centre for Magical Creatures the following morning, even though he hated talking on the phone.

“Yes, hello,” Phil said after he had finally been patched through to an employee.

“Hi sir, sorry what creature is this concerning?”

“A fire sprite.”

“A… a fire sprite?” the person on the other end of the phone said confused.

“Yes, a fire sprite,” Phil confirmed. “He has been coming to my balcony for a couple of weeks now but he’s dimming and not looking as bright anymore. I’m worried.”

“Sorry, let me just get this right. Your pet is a fire sprite?”

“No, he’s not my pet. A friend, I guess. A visitor? I don’t know. I just know that he’s not himself. He needs help. You help with all magical creatures, right?”

“Yes, we do, sir. But I must confess that we have never gotten a call about a sprite of any kind before. Fire sprites are short-lived and I am afraid that there is not much we could do, even if you did bring him in to one of our centres.”

Phil felt his heart sink.

“But if I do, can you try to help?” Phil asked, imploringly.

“I suppose so.”

“Great, so how do I catch him?”

“I really wouldn’t know, sir. Like I said, no one has ever brought a sprite in before. My best guess would be a trap spell if you can perform such.”

“Oh, but I’m not a witch.”

“Excuse me?” the employee said and now he sounded slightly worried. Phil knew that some witches were still worried about humans knowing too much about them and their practices. 

“I said I’m not a witch myself, but I suppose I could get my boyfriend to do it. Will that hold until we can get him to you?”

“Your boyfriend?”

“The fire sprite,” Phil explained.

“Ah, yes. Okay. I will create an incident report, so our centres are ready if you can capture the fire sprite and bring it in. Name?”

“Steve.”

“What’s your last name, sir?”

“Oh, wait? You meant my name? My name is Phil. Phil Lester. The fire sprite is named Steve.”

There was a beat of silence and Phil wondered if the line had gone dead.

“Of course, he is, sir," the voice eventually replied. "Well, I will get that rapport filed and then I wish both you and any of our veterinaries that might see you the best of luck.”

Phil wasn’t sure he should be offended by that closing comment but he didn’t let that get to him. Dan was less than pleased about the idea of catching Steve with a spell but Phil just kept pestering him until he agreed.

When Steve showed up that night, to dance once more, Dan was ready with a spell. It did not go well. For a moment, it almost looked like the orb of energy could lock around Steve but he was too fast, suddenly flickering away much faster than he had ever done.

“We scared him,” Phil whined. “Oh, no, what if he doesn’t come back, Dan?”

“I don’t know, Phil, but he’ll come back, okay? He has every other night, right? Clearly, there’s something about this balcony that keeps him interested. We just have to believe that it will be okay. Steve will be back.”

Steve did come back but he didn’t dance anymore, he just kind of hoovered around and he was smaller than ever before. Phil’s heart ached and he just wanted to help but he had a feeling that another spell would just scare him off. Instead, he grabbed a candle from Dan's stash and slowly opened the door.

Steve flickered away a little but didn’t flee just yet. Phil carefully set the candle down on the ground. He had tried to research fire sprites, even borrowing Dan’s password to access a witch-only database but he hadn’t learned much about them other than what Dan and the man from Centre for Magical Creatures had already told him. They weren’t technically creatures and they didn’t live for very long.

Phil hated that.

“Hi Steve,” Phil called out softly. “You don’t look so good, pal. Why don’t you rest on this candle, yeah? And then in the morning, I can take you to someone who can help? We can get you looked over.”

Phil wasn’t sure if Steve could understand him. Dan would insist that he couldn’t but Phil didn’t see any harm in talking. At least, Steve hadn’t run away yet.

“I’m going to go inside and you can just hang out here, okay? Please stay until morning, so I can get you help.”

Phil watched out of the window for a long time. Steve didn’t leave, but he didn’t dance or go on the candle either. Phil insisted on sleeping in the living room so he could keep an eye on the balcony. Dan ended up joining him on the sofa. He didn't like sleeping alone after so many years of sharing a bed with Phil.

Phil woke in the early morning light when Dan gently shook him awake.

“Phil,” Dan said.

“Hmm?” Phil mumbled and tried to pry his eyes open.

“Steve is on the candle.”

Phil sat up so quickly that he ended up tipping both himself and Dan off the sofa.

“You’re really lucky I love you so much,” Dan said, shaking his head and rubbing his ass where he had landed a little too hard. “Now don’t rush out there. Slow movements.”

Phil was already at the door but he heeded Dan’s warnings and opened the door slowly. Steve looked odd on the wick, small and contained, but he was still here in the light of the morning and that was something that had never happened before.

“Morning, Steve,” Phil greeted politely, as he opened the door.

Norman came trotting up to the door, but then leapt onto the sofa and jumped right up on Dan’s back and climbed until he was sat on Dan’s shoulder, balancing like a pro.

“What would I do without the two of you?” Dan asked, and rubbed his back where Norman’s claws had probably dug in a little too hard. “Phil, just… don’t get burned. I prepared a couple of healing spells but I’d rather not have to use them.”

Phil was momentarily stunned at Dan’s consideration and kind foresight, and he shot him a warm smile over his shoulder until he walked out on the balcony.

“I’m going to pick you up, okay?” Phil said, slowly sitting down and picking up the candle. Steve stayed, flickering slowly, as Phil slowly started to take him towards the flat. “And then we’re going to a vet.”

As soon as the words left Phil’s mouth, Steve up and left the candle.

“No, no, no,” Phil said, waving the candle around, trying to get him back on it. “See? You should get back on this! Candle good!”

“Phil, stop waving it around like that,” Dan said, and stepped out on the balcony. “Here, give me.”

Dan put it down on their little balcony table and stepped back.

They both watched as the fire sprite darted around a little before settling back on the wick again.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Dan said, in wonder.

“Me neither, but what do we do, if we can’t move him?” Phil asked.

“I could always call Pj,” Dan said. “He might know what to do.”

“Yes, your wizard friend! Why didn’t I think of that? That’s brilliant, Dan,” Phil said and, in his excitement, he pressed a kiss to Dan’s cheek. It got Dan to smile that smile that brought out his dimples. Phil kissed him again, just for the pleasure of kissing the deep dimple on his left side.

“Pj might not know how to help either, Phil. Don’t get your hopes up.”

Phil absolutely did get his hopes up, even more so when Pj insisted on coming over immediately after Dan explaining their situation over the phone.

As a wizard, Pj was a classification over Dan and he was quite knowledgeable about magical creatures. He was the one who had originally explained Norman’s dual nature to them and how it was necessary that he got to both be a fish and a cat at times. It was the reason they had a too big aquarium in their living room, even if Norman often would be a cat so he could demand cuddles.

“Where is the wonder?” Pj asked, as soon as he had been let into their flat.

“Out on the balcony,” Phil said excitedly.

“Only, he startles easy, so no sudden movements,” Dan said.

“He?” Pj asked.

Phil was grinning so widely that Dan had now gotten used to talking about Steve the same way Phil did.

“Phil’s a terrible influence. The fire sprite or whatever.”

“Steve,” Phil corrected.

Pj looked from Phil to Dan and back to Phil again. He didn’t exactly look surprised at this banter but then again, he had met them both before. This was pretty on par for them.

Steve stayed on the candle as Pj approached. In fact, he seemed to glow a little brighter at the wizard’s presence.

Pj also greeted Steve politely before he moved his hands to rest on either side of the candle as he did an energy reading. He closed his eyes and Dan took Phil’s hand as they waited.

When Pj opened his eyes again, he looked very excited.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this. But first, how long did you say that Steve was outside of your flat?”

“About two weeks,” Phil said.

“Extraordinary. That’s the usual life span of a fire sprite. They don’t really live for long before the magic slowly drains out of them and they die out. What you said about Steve getting smaller and dimmer was probably him draining of magic. Dying, so to speak.”

“Oh, no, he’s dying?” Phil asked and he didn’t want to cry but he could feel the tears press on all the same.

“No, and that’s the extraordinary thing. He’s not dying, not anymore at least. His core energy is stabilised, which isn’t something that should happen to fire sprites this old. But I’m guessing the candle is providing him with something to build up a bit of his magic. It’s summoning light, isn’t it?”

“Hold up, wait. Yes, that is one of my summoning lights? You took one of those, Phil? Do you know how expensive they are?”

“Hush,” Phil said to Dan. “I’ll buy you a new one. Pj, what does it mean?”

“It means that Steve isn’t dying. He’s thriving actually. I’m more impressed that he somehow understood to get on the candle. Sprites of any kind doesn’t have the same kind of mind as us, or even as other animals or most magical creatures. They’re very simplistic, but they do have an inbuilt fight or flight reflex. This action, however, speaks to general survival instincts and greater comprehension than initially assumed. How did you get him on the candle?”

“I just asked him to,” Phil said. “And when I tried to lift him before to take him to the vet, he jumped off the candle again.”

“Fascinating,” Pj said. “I’d love to study him.”

“What? You’re taking him?” Phil asked, unable to keep some of the heartbreak out of his voice.

“No, I’m not,” Pj rushed to reassure him. “From the sound of it, he would just escape if I tried to take his candle. He has bonded with you. With this place. I doubt he would last long in another environment.”

“What does that mean?” Dan asked, sounding slightly concerned.

“It means we have a new pet!” Phil said happily.

Dan shook his head but didn’t argue. Pj had rushed over to their flat out of curiosity, but he had to head out just as quickly as he had come to run off to another appointment that he had already made himself late for.

Phil sat down on one of the chairs and just watched Steve flicker on the wick. He did look brighter and stronger than he had the night before. His flames were also growing bigger. As Phil watched the flames, they stared to move, shifting into shapes and as Phil smiled and giggled, they shifted into more and more ridiculous ones.

Norman had hopped up on the table and watched with equal fascination.

When Phil looked up, he could see Dan leaning against the balcony doorway and watching the three of them with a bit of a soft smile.

“We’re keeping him,” Phil said, voice stern, even if Dan hadn’t argued. Yet.

“Fire sprites aren’t pets,” Dan argued.

“They can be! Look how happy he is on his candle home,” Phil said and pointed at Steve whose flame grew taller, almost like he was stretching.

“He’ll burn through the candle eventually,” Dan said. “He’s already about halfway through it.”

“We’ll buy more candles, or I’ll raid your shelf of fancy scented ones.”

“Don’t you dare,” Dan said.

“Why? Most of them were gifts from me and you’re not even halfway through the stash,” Phil argued, even if he was still very touched that Dan saved the candles for special occasions.

“I’ll get more candles for Steve,” Dan said and walked over to sit down next to him. “You realise that he might just be gone one day. Up and left. Or if there’s heavy rainfall…”

“We’re going to take him inside with us, obviously,” Phil said.

“And if he burns the whole place down around us?” Dan asked.

At this question Steve moved, flames stretching out again but this time purposely reaching for Dan.

“I think he wants to hold your hand,” Phil said looking at the flames.

“I’m not touching an open flame,” Dan said.

“Well, then I wi-”

“No, I’ll do it,” Dan said and batted Phil’s hand away, and moved his own finger tips closer to Steve’s flame.

Phil watched with bated breath as the flames made contact with Dan’s skin but nothing happened. The flames licked up Dan’s fingers but he didn’t look in pain at all. In fact, Steve slowly climbed off the candle to wind himself around Dan’s fingers. He twisted between his fingers back and forth, clearly without burning Dan before he climbed back to the wick.

It was one of the coolest things that Phil had ever seen and he could see how Dan’s smile shifted.

“Okay, yeah, we’re keeping Steve,” he said and Norman meowed in agreement.

Phil giggled and leaned over to put his head on Dan’s shoulder.

Turned out that sometimes a family could be a witch, his normie boyfriend, his catfish familiar and a fire sprite living beyond its time. Phil thought it was a wonderful start to a family that would only keep growing.

**Author's Note:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](https://secretlywritingstories.tumblr.com/post/626992272675864576/candles-are-how-we-keep-fires-as-pets-phan) (thank you if you do)
> 
> Aren't they so freaking cute? I love these dorks, just going around and adopting a freaking thing that isn't even supposed to be a pet. I hope you liked it too, please let me know in the comments.
> 
> I'm still doing PEDIA and uploading loads, with lots of phanfic mixed in, so please consider checking out my profile for more.


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